Problem Is, He Never Says, ‘Let Me Sleep on It’

Larry Brown, the new coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, is a virtual insomniac during the season. According to the Dallas Morning News, that’s one reason that he acknowledges the need of a strong general manager. “I need people with me that tone me down when I’m out of hand,” the much-traveled coach said. “I go to bed at 4 a.m. when we win. I don’t get to bed when we lose.

“Sometimes I’m not in shape to make the best decisions.”

Perhaps that explains why Brown is always changing jobs.

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Trivia time: Who holds the major league record for the most home runs by a switch hitter?

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Scary field: Montreal Expo first baseman David Segui on the artificial turf at Olympic Stadium:

“Not only does it have huge seams and lumps and dead spots, it’s got something like a trap door. There’s a place where if you step down you hear a clanging noise.”

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Since when? Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Mike Mussina of the Orioles signs a three-year, $20.5-million contract extension, apparently passing up a bigger offer with another team. He says, ‘Sometimes money is not that big a deal.’

“I’m going to read that quote again, but first I’m going to visualize how I’m going to throw up.”

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Green with envy: In an interview with Jack Nicklaus, Mark Soltau of the San Francisco Examiner asked him if other players are envious of Tiger Woods:

“If you don’t think the guys on the tour are jealous of him, you’ve got another think coming. They’re jealous as can be,” Nicklaus said. “They’re going to have to raise their game a notch. If they don’t, they’re going to be playing for second every week.”

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Beating the odds: Many golfers go a lifetime without getting a hole in one. Tommy Catone did it twice last Saturday at the Catawba Country Club in Hickory, N.C.

According to Golf Digest, the odds of a PGA Tour player having just one hole in one in a round are 3,708 to 1.

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Bombs away: Seattle Mariner Manager Lou Piniella after losing two games recently to the Angels by scores of 11-9 and 18-3: “The Angels couldn’t have hit better than this in batting practice.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1984, Rick Mears won the Indianapolis 500 by the largest margin in 17 years with a record-setting speed of 163.621 mph. Mears beat Roberto Guerrero and Al Unser, Sr. by two laps.

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Trivia answer: Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees, with 54 in 1961. Mantle also hit 52 home runs in 1956 and 42 in 1958, more than any other major league switch hitter.

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And finally: Green Bay’s Brett Favre believes the Packers are the team to beat next season:

“We won the Super Bowl, so I’d think so. But what the hell do I know? I’m just a goofy quarterback.”